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The Big Rock Blue Marlin Tournament has long occupied a unique place in competitive sport fishing, but the 68th annual edition elevated the event to another level entirely.
Fueled by a historic rollover from 2025, a massive fleet and a record purse, anticipation was already running high when the first lines went in off Morehead City. By the time the week was over, Big Rock had delivered the kind of finish that cements a tournament’s place in history.
The defining moment came on Day Two, when Capt. Cameron Guthrie and the team aboard Marlin Fever, a 63-foot Jarrett Bay, arrived at Big Rock Landing with a staggering 919.9-pound blue marlin. Angler Connor Daniel’s fish instantly became the largest blue marlin ever weighed in Big Rock history, surpassing the 914-pound benchmark set by Top Dog in 2019. The fish also claimed the Johnson & Towers Level V Fabulous Fisherman’s prize and ultimately powered Marlin Fever to the tournament championship and a tournament-leading payout of $6,513,187.50.
The weigh-in scene was pure Big Rock theater. Crowds packed the waterfront as the fish was hoisted from the boat and onto the scales, creating one of the most electric moments in the tournament’s modern era. Within hours, the news had traveled far beyond North Carolina, as the sport-fishing world began tracking whether anyone in the 278-boat fleet could challenge the new record.
Several teams made serious runs at the leaderboard. Fender Bender, a 62-foot Spencer captained by Colin Oxnard, pushed into second place with a 644.1-pound blue marlin caught by angler Chris Scerri, earning $467,962.50. Then, in one of the final dramatic twists of the week, Capt. Joey Belton and the team aboard Haphazard, a 60-foot Spencer out of Manteo, arrived late Saturday night after a more than six-hour fight and weighed a 635.6-pound blue marlin to take third place and $311,975.
The late-week weather added another layer to the story. Conditions were not poor throughout the entire event, but wind and rougher offshore conditions clearly shaped the final stretch. Only 105 of 278 boats fished Thursday, and Big Rock reported that rough conditions and a predicted lay day kept much of the fleet at the dock Friday, when just 59 boats went offshore. By Saturday, 255 boats were back on the water for one final push.
In the release divisions, Double G, a 57-foot Dixon captained by Rob Constantineau, finished atop the Overall Billfish Release standings with 1,850 points from four blue marlin and two white marlin releases. The team also won Level VIII Weekly + Daily Release and earned $168,937.50. Wave Paver finished second in Level VIII with 1,725 points, followed by Marsh Madness with 1,675 points.
The meat-fish categories produced plenty of headline catches as well. Doc Fees, a 60-foot Ritchie Howell captained by Taylor Pleasant, won the heaviest dolphin division with a 66.1-pound fish and earned $584,500 total, including the $569,500 Level VII Largest Dolphin WTA payout. Watertight, a 57-foot Jarrett Bay captained by Zack Gallaher, took heaviest tuna with a 70.8-pound fish and $15,000, while Magic Moment, a 55-foot Jarrett Bay captained by Stewart Merritt, claimed heaviest wahoo with a 53.4-pounder and $15,000.
The scale of the 2026 event matched the drama. The tournament drew 278 boats, recorded 331 total catches and carried a $9,038,225 purse, with 47 money winners listed across the payout categories.
For nearly seven decades, Big Rock has served as one of the benchmarks against which all other big-game tournaments are measured. In 2026, it showed why once again. A record-setting blue marlin, a massive purse, a loaded fleet, a late-week weather wrinkle and a Saturday-night leaderboard shakeup produced the kind of tournament week that will be discussed for generations.
